Thursday, March 25, 2010

Corporate Control of Public Education Policy



Some have said that the Common Core State Standards have been driven primarily by corporate officials, politicians and testing companies.



If that is the case . . .
  • Who stands to profit?
  • Should Corporations control educational Policy in the United States?

Below are some links that reflect on the issue:


Education Reform is the Best Stock on the Market

Who Will Profit from the Standards?


Conflict of Interest Arises as Concern in Standards Push


Pearson Education Looks Within to Beat McGraw Hill

Pearson Education: World's Leading Education Business is Launched

Alfie Kohn: Debunking the Case for National Standards

Susan Ohanian: Stop National Standards


Data Warehousing Will Destroy Your Soul

Schools Matter: Stimulating Corporate Control of Education

Business Round Table: Education, Innovation and Workforce Initiative

1 comment:

OLAPLANTE said...

I can see your point. Big businesses profiting from the biggest expenditures of the government - military, education and healthcare. There is absolutely too many coincidences to consider them coincidences. I agree that businesses have interest in all of these things - for one, it's the surest stock on the market. Does this mean that national standards are a bad thing altogether? Does it mean that only local control is a bliss. Where is the golden middle? Or is it about teachers not having enough voice? Or is it about the whole NLCB disaster and how it's perpetuated by the renewal, and how these companies stand to profit? Obviously, companies react to what customers want. That their product is "suspiciously" aligned with standards is not a red flag. I presume that the red flag goes up when certain things that are not free are mandated by the government and the taxpayer foots the bill without much say in the matter... I have become a strong proponent of smaller schools in general - easier to manage, easier to respond to communities' needs, presumably more personal. Big schools become cumbersome, bulky, expensive, less transparent. Longer to get to. More tempting for the government to attempt control. To standardize and bombard with assessments and demand useless data from. Does anyone else think that small schools may be the answer to the corporate education?